


Connecting the (Air)Dots

by rabidsamfan



Series: Diversions [1]
Category: Cabin Pressure, Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: Drabble Collection, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-12
Updated: 2014-05-30
Packaged: 2018-01-15 10:30:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 150
Words: 15,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1301635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rabidsamfan/pseuds/rabidsamfan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of drabbles, in flawedamythyst's delightful "<a href="http://archiveofourown.org/series/28029">Seduction by Aviation</a>" 'verse taking off along another trouser of time following "The Duxford Air Show."  Because I can't stop thinking about it!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [flawedamythyst](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flawedamythyst/gifts).
  * Inspired by [The Duxford Air Show](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1194555) by [flawedamythyst](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flawedamythyst/pseuds/flawedamythyst). 



> I have not actually listened to all of Cabin Pressure, or even most of it, which I recognize is a distinct disadvantage, here, even if I have read a lot of fic, and the transcripts over at cabinpressurefans.co.uk. Please feel free to tell me when I've veered too far off the flight path!

Ferrying tulips (she had selected them herself) from Amsterdam to New York paid rather well, and discovering that she and her entire crew were expected to occupy rooms at the Stark Tower for the night should have been an unexpected bonus. But Carolyn Knapp-Shappey lingered a moment before leaving the safety of GERTI for the waiting limo. Fortunately she had long since taken to stashing a small suitcase with a change of underthings and small necessities at the back of the hold. A fortuitous habit which allowed her to maintain an air of dignity despite her growing sense of unease.


	2. Chapter 2

She woke to a sunrise an ocean away, despite high-thread count sheets and a duvet like a cloud, and soon gave up trying to go back to sleep. Instead she rose and found her way down to the newsstand she could see far below her window. Armed with headlines, crossword, and coffee she returned to her borrowed luxury, trying not to think of the days when she’d thought of things like maid service and chocolates for her pillow as her due. There was a price for everything, after all. She could only hope it was a price she could afford.


	3. Chapter 3

The tap at the door was neither gentle, nor rude, but it demanded a response, and Carolyn took a moment to tuck her hair back before going to answer it. Her visitor was instantly recognizable. Pepper Potts might not be quite as famous as Tony Stark, but her face had appeared often enough in the papers that there was no chance Carolyn could pretend ignorance. She opened the door wider, ushering Pepper in, and addressing her as CEO to CEO, proud that her voice didn’t shake. “I suppose you’ve come to tell me that I’ve lost one of my pilots?”


	4. Chapter 4

“Not as far as I know.” Pepper came into the room like she owned it (which she did) and took a chair by the window. “Mr. Stark said nothing about offering Martin a job. He’s found that it’s much easier to keep matters uncomplicated when he doesn’t sleep with his employees.” For a moment something in the younger woman's eyes said much about paths not taken. But she recovered and went on. “I can’t say that it won’t come up in future, however, given that I understand that Martin told Tony that he’d agreed to work for _you_ for free.”


	5. Chapter 5

Pepper wasn’t surprised to see Carolyn’s chin raise defensively. “Not exactly free,” the older woman said, beginning to fold her newspaper into a neat rectangle. “I do meet his expenses whenever we’re away from Fitton.”

“Yes. I imagine it’s quite a relief to you to stay here at the Avengers Tower while you’re in New York.”

“It’s been quite pleasant,” Carolyn agreed. “But if we’re imposing, I shall be glad to remove my crew to other accommodations.” 

Pepper wanted to smile and squashed the impulse. Tony might say “make it so”, but it was her job to make it _work_.


	6. Chapter 6

Pepper waved away the offer, knowing that she couldn’t let herself be charmed by anyone’s pride. Carolyn Knapp-Shappey still had questions to answer. “Mr. Stark suggested that we invest in MJN Airlines, to make it possible for you to alter your arrangements with Martin, but when I began researching your airline...”

“Air dot,” Carolyn corrected, absently. “It takes more than one plane to make a line.”

Pepper bit back her smile even harder. “As I was saying Martin insists that the airline’s finances are very tight, but my researches indicate that you posses a savings account of several thousand pounds.”


	7. Chapter 7

Carolyn gave a reluctant sigh. “I think, Miss Potts, that it is time you met my son.” 

Arthur was in the next room over, and as soon as the introductions were over he announced, “I’ve been drawing Thor!” and darted back to the center of a halo of colored pencils on the floor to collect his sketchbook. “See, here he is with his cloak all billowing out and here’s me with a cloak too, because even if I can’t have one for real, I can draw myself with one, and isn’t it brilliant? Have you got a cloak, Miss Potts?”


	8. Chapter 8

“Arthur,” Carolyn said, once the drawings had been endured. “Tell Miss Potts about our spare room.”

“It’s really nice,” Arthur said excitedly. “It’s got a bed and a desk and its own bathroom door like mine so I always knock first. And it’s painted blue like the sky and Mum put a big picture of GERTI into a frame and hung it up on the wall so everything’s cosy.” He frowned. “But the only trouble is nobody ever stays there.” Then he brightened. “Are you going to come stay there? I’ll make you toblerone pancakes for breakfast if you do.”


	9. Chapter 9

They ended up in one of the executive lounges, facing off over coffee.

“My son may be an idiot, but he’s my idiot. His father takes no interest. The savings account which concerns you and the house are all Arthur will have some day, and I have made it my business to see that he will be supplied with paper and colored pencils and toblerones for as long as possible. The account is also, unfortunately, the best chance I have of replacing GERTI when repairs become utterly infeasible. I’m relying on the kindness of aviation history enthusiasts as it is.”


	10. Chapter 10

“And the spare room?”

“Is Martin’s. Or it would have been, if he'd ever failed to meet the rent on that ridiculous flophouse of his.” Carolyn’s eyes held no defiance now. “If I could persuade him to take it, that is. He’s ridiculously difficult to give things to.”

Pepper smiled. “Tony’s finding that out.”

Carolyn smiled back. “I do think about his requirements, you know. And if I’m guilty of leaping at the opportunity when he offered to work for free, I knew our arrangement would give him the one thing he required most.”

“A plane to fly?”

“Hands-on experience.”


	11. Chapter 11

Pepper wasn’t surprised when Carolyn didn’t leap at the idea of accepting a _carte blanche_ from Stark Industries. Martin and his employer had more than flying in common, it seemed, and dignity was the one thing in the world that you couldn’t improve by throwing money at it. Besides if there was anything they were in agreement upon, it was that any collaboration would need to continue to keep Martin doing what he loved best. In the end they decided upon two commissions a month to bring Martin to New York, and access to the Stark Industries repair facilities worldwide.


	12. Chapter 12

If anyone had told Natasha that she’d catch Tony Stark sneaking carefully out of his room, or that he’d ever lift a finger to his lips and mouth, “He’s sleeping,” like any ordinary lovestruck mortal who wanted to let their lover have a lie-in, she’d have laughed. But that was before she'd been treated to Clint’s version of Tony carefully applying aloe to Martin’s peeling sunburn, or Steve’s laconic admission that he’d connived with Pepper to keep the Avengers away from the tower while Tony’s boyfriend made it over from Europe.

It was kind of cute. But she laughed anyway.


	13. Chapter 13

Tony went down to his workshop early and tried to compose a tactful way to tell the still-sleeping Martin that he’d chosen (bought) an old farmhouse near Fitton and was going to have it rewired and stuff so that he (and JARVIS) would have a place to stay whenever he needed a break from saving the world and oh, yes, if Martin wanted to choose a room or two for his own stuff that would be totally fine and no, it wasn’t charity, really, it wasn’t, because... because who wanted to waste time driving that they could use for sex?


	14. Chapter 14

“It’s not fine, Tony,” Martin said, running his hand through his hair in a way that made Tony’s fingers itch to do the same. “What happens if you get mad at me and I don’t have any place to go?”

Tony thought about it. Then shook his head. “Nope. Can’t imagine you doing anything to make me mad, and even if you did, I wouldn’t go all green giant on your ass. Besides which, if I did do anything stupid to you, Bruce would go all green giant on my ass. He likes you.”

“He does?” squeaked Martin. “Oh, God.”


	15. Chapter 15

Martin probably would have found a reason to be unhappy about the news that the crew of MJN Airways would be stuck in New York for another day while Stark Industries repairmen did a thorough overhaul of GERTI’s electrical systems, but Tony cut him off at the first frown. “Nope. I win this one. You don’t like thinking of me flying in a plane that might blow up and I don’t like thinking of you flying in a plane that might not work because the basic maintenance hasn't been done.”

He grinned. “Besides, we get twenty-four more hours for sex.”


	16. Chapter 16

Martin bit his lip, even as he shifted on the couch so that Tony could worship various freckles. “You know I can’t argue with safety precautions. Or sex with you. But Tony, I love you, and I don’t want to start resenting you because you didn’t listen to me when I said ‘no’.”

Tony’s head flew up, his eyes wide. “Whatdidyousay?”

“I said I don’t want...”

“No, before that.”

Martin blinked and thought about it. “I love you? Oh, god, was that the wrong thing to say so soon?”

“No,” Tony said, with a broad smile. “No. It was perfect.”


	17. Chapter 17

“I do listen, you know,” Tony mumbled to Martin’s shoulderblades, sometime later when they were both wrung out with bliss. “When you say no. I do listen.”

“Does it make any difference?” Martin asked sleepily.

“‘Course it does,” Tony nuzzled a little closer. “No places like Nero’s, no dates without asking.” The huff of air from his sigh made the hair on Martin’s neck (among other things) begin to rise. “No phone sex.”

“You keep asking about the phone sex.” Martin pointed out.

“Doesn’t mean I expect to actually get it,” Tony chuckled. “I just like to hear you blush.”


	18. Chapter 18

Tony and Martin had just descended the spiral staircase to the main level when the alert came in. Steve, heading for the phone, ordered. “Food first, Tony! You haven’t eaten for hours.” Martin nodded obediently and began dragging Tony towards the kitchen.

They had to maneuver past Clint, who was scrambling for his gear with his mouth full, and Thor, who was wearing an apron that said “Behold My Mighty Frying Pan!” Beyond those hazards they found Arthur, trying desperately to save the integrity of an edifice of graham crackers, chocolate, marshmallows, oranges, and what Martin desperately hoped _weren’t_ burritos.


	19. Chapter 19

It seemed like no time at all before the Avengers were gone, and Martin was left with a tingling taste of jalapenos and chocolate on his lips and Arthur tugging at his sleeve. “Come on,” Arthur said. “We can watch from the balcony.”

“I’m not sure that’s safe,” Martin protested.

JARVIS intervened. “The incident is some three miles away, Captain. And I have been instructed to deploy the Tower’s security systems to ensure your safety if it comes any closer. Would you prefer to watch on the big screen?”

“Yes, please,” Arthur said, before Martin could make up his mind.


	20. Chapter 20

The things bubbling up out of the sewer system were shaped something like jellyfish, if jellyfish came in the large economy size and had half a dozen blobby legs instead of tentacles. They bumbled over cars and into lamposts, knocking down the tables and chairs outside a cafe, but they moved slowly enough that most of the people on the street had already managed to get out of the way. The exception was a little old lady, and even she was making pretty good headway before Tony dropped down beside her and offered her a bow and a steadying arm.


	21. Chapter 21

“Tony, get out of there!” Martin exclaimed, as one of the jellyfish-things extended a pseudopod dripping with slime. “It’s trying to grab you!”

“Martin?” Tony’s head came up, but luckily he wasn’t too startled to react. In a moment he and his damsel in distress were hovering three stories above the street. “Hey, Spitfire, JARVIS giving you a front row seat?”

“Yes, yes, and I’m sorry. I didn’t know you could hear me,” Martin apologized hastily. “I don’t mean to distract you.”

“No problem,” Tony said, looking down at the beslimed cars which were rapidly collapsing into piles of rust.


	22. Chapter 22

Clint didn’t know whether to be relieved or amused when Steve ordered Tony to back off. Annoyed, maybe, when Tony and Bruce promptly tapped _him_ to collect a sample of the metal-eating slime.

“And just what am I supposed to carry it in?” he asked over the comm.

“They aren’t doing chemical damage to the cars' windows,” Bruce said. “Find a glass bottle.”

“Right,” Clint said. “And then what? I just waltz up to one of those things and tap it on the shoulder and say, ‘here, give me some goop for Rust Man to take back to the lab?'”


	23. Chapter 23

Arthur thought that being able to watch and listen to the Avengers in action was brilliant, but when he turned to share that observation he realized that he could see every one of Skip’s freckles, despite the sunburn. He caught Martin’s arm and steered him to one of the couches. “Do you want me to ask JARVIS to turn it off?” he asked quietly.

“No,” Martin shook his head so hard it looked like it hurt. “No, I can do this.”

Arthur slung an arm around his shoulders. “It’ll be all right,” he said. “Tony’s nearly as clever as Douglas.”


	24. Chapter 24

They watched together as the Avengers tried to suss out just what the jellyfish were. Steve had put Bruce, still himself thank god, and Tony on the science side of it, while Natasha and Clint monitored the things, and he argued with the authorities. Thor he set to clearing away abandoned vehicles that hadn’t been damaged yet, making a path in the direction the things seemed to want to go. 

About the fiftieth gleeful Asgardian cry of “Yellow Car!” Douglas turned up in the lift to join them.

“Arthur,” he said reprovingly. “Didn’t you tell him that taxicabs don’t count?”


	25. Chapter 25

By the time the March of the Jellyfish reached the East River, Tony was definitely feeling like he’d spent the last week fighting with Doombots on the rampage, crowds at an airshow, Loki in a mischievous mood, and his own emotions. Granted, he’d done okay out of that three times out of four, he was pretty sure that adding in two transatlantic flights in the suit wasn’t helping. He parked himself on a cornice while Bruce and Reed Richards held a biology confabulation and wished he could just go home and wrap himself around Martin and a good stiff drink.


	26. Chapter 26

Beneath the chatter of superheroes and authorities, he could hear a conversation happening back at the Tower. 

“Are you all right, Skip?”

“Yes, Arthur.”

“Because you don’t look all right. Your face is all blotchy.”

“That’s the sunburn peeling, Arthur. But it is true that If they don’t come back soon Martin’s going to mangle that cushion beyond repair.” 

“I’m all right,” Martin insisted. “It’s just... just... this is the hard part. Waiting.”

“And it won’t get any easier for sitting there.” Douglas’s voice had a kindly note Tony didn’t expect. “Come into the kitchen and keep Arthur from helping.”


	27. Chapter 27

Carolyn (after exasperatedly asking where her son could have got to and getting an answer from apparently thin air) found her crew in the Avengers’ kitchen, assembling steak and mushroom pies. At least, Douglas was assembling them. Martin was cutting up vegetables and Arthur was making letters from the leftover pastry dough. 

“And just what are you lot up to?” she asked.

“Hi mum,” Arthur said. “Look, an I for Iron Man _and_ a T for Tony!”

“I think of it as restoring my reputation with Captain America,” Douglas said. “And keeping Martin too busy to fret.”

“Is it working?”


	28. Chapter 28

Tony listened harder. He wanted to know too.

“Sort of,” Martin answered his boss. “Mostly. I mean, it’s hard to concentrate on two things at once, so I can’t just think about how Tony got hurt before, and how tired he must be by now, and that’s probably good, except I feel like I ought to be thinking about Tony more than carrots, not that I have to think much except for being careful not to cut myself, which would be bad because then I’d worry Tony instead of the other way around. And now I’m running out of carrots.”


	29. Chapter 29

“Well if you need something better to worry about,” Carolyn said, “take a look at the weather report. That tropical depression has worked itself into a tropical storm, and while it will miss the United States, it has the potential to make the transatlantic crossing quite messy. If we’re going to get back to Fitton in time to refuel and head for Moscow to pick up Mr. Alyakhin’s commission, we may have to leave earlier than we thought.”

“Do you need a flight plan?” Martin asked.

“Two, by preference. One to bypass the storm and one to beat it across.”


	30. Chapter 30

Tony, listening to the sexy competent tone that Martin’s voice took on when he started to ask JARVIS for weather updates, cast about for excuses to go home and watch his boyfriend (boyfriend!) in his element, and struck on the perfect one. “Hey, Cap, I’m going to run those samples back to the tower for analysis.”

“Sure you don’t want to stay for shawarma?” Captain America asked. “I’m sure Ismail’s got the grill fired up for us.”

“No, I’m fine,” Tony said, dropping down to collect Clint’s bag of acid-filled bottles. “Anyone else want a lift back?”

“Me,” said Natasha.


	31. Chapter 31

Natasha was sure that Tony would have preferred to fly back alone, but he held down his speed anyway, which meant she could actually talk, instead of keeping her mouth shut against any passing bugs.

“So are you going to introduce me to Martin?” she asked.

“Sure,” Tony said, and even with the voice modulator he sounded distracted. “Of course. I mean, haven’t I?”

“No.” Trust Tony to have completely spaced that. “You’ve been keeping the hot redhead all to yourself.”

“Yeah.” She could hear the grin. “Hey, Natasha, how fast do you think you can get him to blush?”


	32. Chapter 32

Getting Martin to blush was hardly a challenge. All it really took was the raising of an eyebrow and a considering look. But Tony started shifting in his suit like it had grown tight, and Martin’s attention immediately was diverted.

Introductions over and the suit banished to its cubbyhole, she got a better chance to appreciate just why Tony was so stuck on a man who stammered over a simple ‘hello’ while the two of them tried to give each other tongue tonsillectomies. Martin _was_ hot, and physically stronger than first glance would reveal. 

And he had a nice ass.


	33. Chapter 33

Douglas took the news that most of the Avengers would be dining out with admirable calm. “These pies freeze well,” he said. “And I’ll leave the baking instructions with JARVIS.”

“But we’ll cook yours now,” Arthur added bringing over a tray. “See, it’s got a B and an N on top. And this one is...”

“An IT pie for an IT guy,” Tony had wandered into the kitchen, momentarily Martinless. “How long till supper?”

“Half an hour,” Douglas estimated.

“Plenty of time,” Martin appeared at a dead run and flung paper in Carolyn’s direction before grabbing Tony. “Let’s go shower.”


	34. Chapter 34

Natasha considered her remaining options. Douglas had the air of someone who knew his way around the block; Arthur, the air of someone who would have a lot more fun enroute -- even if it were only because he hadn’t often made the trip. But the one was up to his elbows in flour and pastry and the other was asking his mother (Option Unlikely) for permission to go watch the other Avengers again. And Carolyn was giving Natasha a glare which made it clear doors number two and three were definitely locked.

Natasha sighed. Sometimes she hated her code name.


	35. Chapter 35

After Martin had cajoled him into finishing his supper, Tony Stark vanished down to the lab to run analyses on the jellyfish slime samples. Douglas and Black Widow vanished too, and Carolyn wasn’t about to ask if they’d gone in the same direction. She set Arthur to doing the washing up, then caught her Captain’s eye and led him out to the still-quiet living area. He immediately starting fussing with the paperwork detritus of his work on the flight plans, but Carolyn wasn’t in the mood to coddle his nerves. “Martin,” she said, indicating a chair. “We need to talk.”


	36. Chapter 36

“I’m sorry, Carolyn,” Martin stammered. His adam’s apple was bobbling as he tried to swallow his uncertainty, and his ears were reddening. “I didn’t want to tell Tony. But I had to. And I didn’t ask for charity.”

“Just as well, since he isn’t giving us any,” Carolyn replied. After all, her negotiations had been with _Stark Industries_ , not its feckless owner. “We’ll be earning anything we get, I promise you. But with two additional commissions a month, minimum, I shan’t be able to afford to leave enough space on the wall chart for you to continue with Icarus Removals.”


	37. Chapter 37

She’d been right to approach this as a business negotiation. Martin was already calmer, although by the way he kept his eyes on his hands he was fighting the urge to straighten papers. 

Carolyn went on. “I’ve been considering how to compensate you for the loss of income.”

Martin licked his lips and started fidgeting with one of the sheets of calculations from the table. “Well, um. Well. You could pay me something for each day we fly,” he said. “And maybe something when we’re on a layover?”

“Oh, Martin,” she sighed. “Haven’t you grown tired of being paid piecemeal?”


	38. Chapter 38

He shrugged and the color rose on his cheeks once more as he began to shred the paper. “How about a salary,” he ventured. “Like Douglas. Only I know he’s got more time with the company, even if operationally I have seniority, so it might be awkward. I don’t know which one of us you’d...”

“Martin,” Carolyn interrupted him before he could get entangled in pride and self-deprecation. And before she lost her nerve. “I told you I’d thought about this; I’m asking you to give up your company. It’s only fair that I offer you a share of mine.”


	39. Chapter 39

Martin’s eyes flew up to meet hers and the paper fell to the floor. “A share? In MJN Air?” The inadvertent rhyme flustered him and he leapt to his feet, burying one hand in his hair. “But it’s your company. It’s your plane! How can I accept an offer like that?”

“By recognizing that you’ve put at least sixty thousand pounds worth of ‘sweat equity’ into the business over the past several years. Work that made it possible for the business to continue to exist,” Carolyn said, having already thought it out. “And besides, I’m only offering you twenty percent.”


	40. Chapter 40

“Twenty percent?” Martin took a turn around the floor, thinking out loud as he paced. “Twenty percent. But that can’t be twenty percent of the gross because we still have to pay for fuel and airport fees and layovers and taxes and things. Oh, god, taxes. Would I still count as self-employed if I’m a shareholder? And liabilities. Oh, god, wouldn’t owning part of the company make me liable if there’s damages? But how different would that be from you taking it out of me and Douglas’s pay. Oh, god, Douglas. What will Douglas think? What will Douglas _say?! Carolyn!_ ”


	41. Chapter 41

“Douglas,” Carolyn said firmly, “has received the entire benefit of the company payroll for some time. If he wants a share, he’ll have to pay for it.” She folded her hands and made sure that Martin had stopped long enough to meet her gaze. “He may prefer the certainty of a salary, you know. It isn’t as if I have always been able to scrape a consistent amount off for Arthur and I. Some months...” she quashed the desire to grimace. “Well, let’s just say that some months I am glad that Arthur is happy to eat what he cooks.”


	42. Chapter 42

Martin held very still for a moment. It hadn’t occurred to him, although it should have, that Carolyn was in the position where she had to enforce the same kind of economy on herself and Arthur as she did on her airline. And she wasn’t very good at it. Unless, perhaps, cheese trays, catered microwave meals, and toblerones were nearly as much a luxury to her as they were to Martin. After all, with only sixteen passenger seats on GERTI, it wasn’t as if the rules required MJN to bring even one steward on a passenger flight, much less two.


	43. Chapter 43

“Would a share in the company mean a share in the responsibilities?” Martin said thoughtfully, when she’d just about to ask him if he’d turned into a statue. 

“In what way?” Carolyn asked, suspiciously.

“Well, a look at the books.” He flushed, as if he knew how much she’d dislike that. “And a chance to make some suggestions. I’m rather good at cheeseparing.”

 _Suggestions_ she could live with, as long as _decisions_ remained hers. “Possibly. The cheese tray is not up for paring, however. Some days a bite of Camembert is the only reason to get up in the morning.”


	44. Chapter 44

They agreed to shake hands on it, “Although to make it official, I expect we’ll need a witness,” Carolyn said.

Martin smiled. “JARVIS?” he asked. “Can you record this for us?”

“Certainly, Captain Crieff,” came the helpful voice from the air. Carolyn congratulated herself on not looking around. Arthur had tried to explain about JARVIS, and she’d deciphered most of it eventually. “However, a human witness would have better standing in a court of law.”

“Oh, I’m not worried about that,” Martin said, holding out his hand to Carolyn. “I just want proof that I jumped into the deep end.”


	45. Chapter 45

Douglas took the news with the slightly distracted air of a man who has just discovered that danger makes girls horny too. No wonder Natasha preferred to spend most of her time away from the Avengers Tower and the potential for workplace complications! But Martin with even more reason to think he was Supreme Commander? No, that wouldn’t do. “Of course I’ll pay for a twenty percent share of MJN Air,” he told them both. “As soon as you’ve settled on a price, naturally. But what about Arthur?”

“Arthur,” Carolyn began, and then visibly realized the risk of being outvoted.


	46. Chapter 46

“Yes, Mum?” Arthur said, just before Carolyn was rescued from answering by the arrival of the remaining Avengers. 

“Arthur, Douglas, we should go back down to our rooms,” she said, instead of addressing her conundrum.

“Oh, that’s not necessary,” Captain America said. “If Martin needs to talk to you, this is a lot more comfortable than the executive lounge.” He looked tired, or as tired as a superhero ever gets. Hawkeye and Thor did too. And Bruce Banner was clearly trying to restrain his impatience. Or something.

Carolyn made an executive decision. “The executive lounge is perfectly comfortable, thank you.”


	47. Chapter 47

Martin trailed after Carolyn and the others. He hadn’t been to any of the Tower floors beyond the ground floor and the penthouse except for Tony’s workshop, and it was kind of a relief to discover that the guest rooms for Stark Industries’ (as opposed to Avengers’) guests were just as nice as the ones upstairs. And if the lounge that Carolyn led them to had a big meeting table, that only made sense for business meetings. Which is what this seemed to be, after all. Somehow he had a feeling that they weren’t going to be discussing the weather.


	48. Chapter 48

Carolyn took her seat at the head of the table “Arthur,” she began, after the other three had settled. “I have a confession to make. I have been squandering your inheritance.”

“That’s all right, Mum,” Arthur said blithely. “I don’t want an inheritance. I’d much rather have you.”

“While I appreciate the sentiment, I need you to listen carefully. I’ve given Martin twenty percent of MJN Air in consideration of all the unpaid work he’s done. I’ve also offered Douglas the opportunity to buy twenty percent.”

“Okay, Mum. Does it mean we’re going to be called _Our_ Jet Now? Brilliant!”


	49. Chapter 49

Carolyn pinched her nose to discourage the headache. “Arthur, I haven’t offered you a share yet.”

“I’ve already got one,” Arthur said. “Douglas said that Dad gave the new engine to me so he wouldn’t get arrested. So the new engine is my share.”

“Perfectly logical,” Douglas drawled.

Martin looked from Carolyn to Arthur to Douglas. “Arthur, I don’t think you understand the difference between a share of GERTI and a share of MJN Air.”

“Well you can’t have one without the other,” Douglas said. “A plane with a full compliment of engines is a requirement. Even for an airdot.”


	50. Chapter 50

Tony finished up the labwork and passed the results over to Bruce to deal with. It was the strangest thing, but all he wanted to do was find Martin and cuddle. Well, maybe it wasn’t so strange, seeing as how they were boyfriends now, but you’d think that the whole boyfriend thing would mean he’d want to be going for the sex first and wait on the cuddling part until afterwards. But no, he just wanted to hold Martin and count freckles until they both fell asleep. It would be nice.

And they could always have sex in the morning.


	51. Chapter 51

He was a little surprised when the elevator started down. “JARVIS?”

“Captain Crieff is in a discussion with his colleagues in the south executive lounge,” JARVIS explained, and Tony thought he wasn’t entirely imagining the slight hesitation on the AI’s part. “You did say his name.”

“Did I?” Tony frowned. Had he said Martin’s name out loud? It was kind of disconcerting to think he’d managed to create a telepathic AI, and not just an incredibly useful one.

“It was rather soft, sir,” JARVIS replied, and now Tony was certain he heard a note of relief. “I had to guess.”


	52. Chapter 52

JARVIS didn’t “guess” often, Tony knew, so the AI must have been practically lip-reading to drive the percentages down that far. “What were your other options?” he asked. 

“‘Barton’ and ‘Bar soon’ were the only two with any significant probability of being correct, sir,” JARVIS said. “All others rated at less than five percent. And since past evidence suggests that you are healthiest in the presence of Captain Crieff, I weighted that option most heavily.”

“Healthiest?” Tony echoed. “Are you telling me that you like Martin, JARVIS?”

“Inasmuch as my programming allows for ‘liking’, yes, sir. He makes you happy.”


	53. Chapter 53

Tony, feeling introspective after that conversation, got as far as the window looking into the south lounge and stopped. The door was still open, so he could hear Martin and the others, but they still hadn’t noticed him coming, and for a moment at least he could just observe. And think. And be honest with himself, because what was the point of all this feeling introspective shit if you didn’t bother telling yourself the truth. Did Martin make him happy?

Horny, yeah, no question. But that wasn’t the same as happy. Martin made him....

Damn, he needed new vocab again.


	54. Chapter 54

He’d managed to get Martin to borrow a pair of his own jeans and a spare t-shirt by dint of pointing out that he had no fucking clue what had happened to the clothes Martin had lent him in England. They’d probably been cut up by the medical team after Loki zapped him. It was a good look on Martin, with just enough of his upper arms showing to hint at the muscles he’d built by moving things instead of by working out in a gym. 

Tony let his forehead rest against the cool glass and let himself be distracted.


	55. Chapter 55

Despite Carolyn regally squelching one of his suggestions (Tony thought Martin would make a great Chief of Operations) and Douglas meeting it with his usual dry mockery, Martin’s body language said that this was no more than the usual bickering of teammates and only to be expected. And he was quick as the other two to chime in with a “NO!” when Arthur wanted to be ‘chief cook and bottlewasher,’ although he kindly added that none of the bottles on GERTI were likely to ever need washing. Then he turned on Douglas with a smirk. “Besides, Douglas likes to cook.”


	56. Chapter 56

Douglas raised his nose. “I think Arthur can continue to cope with the microwave.”

Martin shook his head. “Yes, I mean no, I didn’t mean you should cook on flights. I meant you should cook before them. Like we just did. Make a bunch of meals to freeze ahead of time. It almost always saves money to cook your own food instead of going to restaurants.”

“And we could all come over to your house to help you cook,” Arthur chimed in, his sunny smile restored. “It would be brilliant!”

Douglas glanced at Carolyn, who nodded. “It’s worth a try.”


	57. Chapter 57

Tony frowned at the reminder that in some ways he and Martin were living on different planets. Tony only cooked when he felt like it; because messing around with ingredients and fire was almost as much fun as messing around with chemicals or tools. Money just wasn’t an issue. At least not until it was, he remembered, thinking of Duxford. And that wasn’t the only time he’d been stranded without his wallet, just the most awkward. Maybe he should put a pocket inside the suit. That way he’d always have a bank card. 

He’d give Martin one too. For emergencies.


	58. Chapter 58

Carolyn, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the sudden joint efforts of her pilots and her son to save the company money as opposed to spending it frivolously at every opportunity, leaned back from the table and caught sight of Tony Stark standing just outside the door. He nodded, acknowledging her glance. 

She took out the flight plans that Martin had given her. “If you want to be helpful, doublecheck the weather and let me know which of these I should file for tomorrow,” she said, and then got up to go and have a conversation she no longer wished to avoid.


	59. Chapter 59

Martin flinched when he saw that Tony was going to have to talk to Carolyn, but he pulled himself together a moment later and gave Tony a nervous smile and thumbs up for luck. Douglas noticed too, but other than a raised eyebrow his expression remained under control, and Tony couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Arthur was oblivious to any undercurrents and waved to Tony with a big grin. Carolyn -- Tony thought maybe she was nervous under that air of grim determination. He smiled his best smile and hoped he didn’t look just as uncertain. 

He could do this.


	60. Chapter 60

Carolyn made sure to close the door before she spoke. Given that JARVIS appeared to listen in to every conversation in the building, she couldn’t expect real privacy, but hopefully the AI didn’t care to gossip. “Mr. Stark, if I might have a word with you?” 

“Sure,” Tony waved her toward the east lounge. “Would you like me to send for some coffee? Or no, you’re a Brit, so it would be tea, wouldn’t it. Only Martin says he prefers coffee, so maybe you’d like coffee.”

“Not at this time of evening,” Carolyn said. Not if she wanted to sleep.


	61. Chapter 61

Safely in the east lounge (with the door shut) Carolyn turned to face Tony. He really was a personable young man, despite a tendency to produce more words than necessary. Something he shared with Martin, although Martin would never have the bone-deep assurance that everything would come out in the wash which Tony wore like a second skin. But he was human all the same, and his eyes were wary. Carolyn decided in a heartbeat to modify her tactics. “First things first,” she began. “I wanted to thank you for giving me a second chance to do right by Martin.”


	62. Chapter 62

“Yeah,” Tony said, and his smile quirked downward. “Not paying him, that was...”

“That was _meant_ to be temporary,” Carolyn said quickly. “I never expected him to stay more than a few months. And I know that, at first at least, he was applying to other airlines.” She’d sabotaged his chances with EasyJet back then, and even now refused to acknowledge any possible twinge of conscience. Martin would have been miserable at EasyJet. And it wouldn’t have done his CV any good whatsoever to be fired on the grounds of just being Martin. “But he’s a much better pilot now.”


	63. Chapter 63

Tony cocked his head at the apparent non-sequitor. “Because he didn’t get paid?”

Carolyn shook her head. “No. I meant that if he had wanted to leave MJN and apply elsewhere, any time in the last year, he could have done. Once he got through the interview, that is. He doesn’t interview well. But he’s stayed with me. And that has been the difference between flying and bankruptcy for us.” She straightened and her voice took on a note like a bell. “Which is why, if you deliberately hurt him, I _will_ find a way to make your life miserable.”


	64. Chapter 64

Tony flung himself petulantly into one of the comfier chairs. “Why is it that everyone keeps telling me not to hurt Martin?” _Because judging from the news reports, when it comes to lovers you have the attention span of a gnat_ , Carolyn thought, but didn’t say. She wouldn’t have been able to get a word in edgewise in any case, as Tony was still whinging. “Bruce said it, Steve said it, now you and you don’t even know me! So let’s just get one thing straight. I am NOT GOING TO HURT MARTIN.”

“Of course you will,” said Carolyn kindly.


	65. Chapter 65

He would have protested, but age had at least bestowed upon her the gift of silencing youngsters with a look. “I only threatened you if you hurt him _deliberately_ ,” she reminded him. “But hurting Martin... oh, that’s inevitable.”

“But I don’t want to hurt him.”

“I never said you did.” Carolyn said. “But then again, I know Martin doesn’t want to hurt you, and he’ll do that too, if he hasn’t already..” She settled onto one of the straightbacked chairs, having no desire to haul herself ungainfully out of cushions later. Tony was still watching her suspiciously. 

“Tell me more.”


	66. Chapter 66

Tony was never going to be a fan of people telling him what to think, but he had to admit a certain lingering sense of awe around bossy old ladies, left over from the one nanny he hadn’t been able to chase off with awkward questions, and the chemistry teacher at boarding school who had made him do stuff like revise his stink bomb formula for extra potency and less toxicity or calculate the safe distance for observation before he blew shit up. And there were his grandmothers too, although he barely remembered either of them. 

Old ladies were scary.


	67. Chapter 67

Carolyn folded her hands in her lap, to keep them still and steady. Offending Tony Stark at this juncture might very well leave her with no pilot and no commissions. But there were things she couldn’t imagine saying to Martin, and at least one of them ought to know. “You’ve fallen in love with a very proud, very determined, and very special man,” she said. “But Martin, for all his good qualities, is also rule-bound, prissy, insecure, and unlucky. Five minutes from the time we leave the Tower I expect he will already be imagining disasters. And with good reason.”


	68. Chapter 68

“Martin is the only person I’ve ever met who adds asterisks to all of his accomplishments. Has he told you yet how many times it took him to get his license? He hasn’t, has he? And he’ll be in agonies of worry that you’ll find out and like him the less for it because he can’t look at the accomplishment without seeing the failures beforehand, so I’ll tell you. Seven tries. _Seven._ And what he never mentioned until two years after I’d taken him on was that he learned it all on his own. He never went to flight school.”


	69. Chapter 69

Tony felt his eyebrows knitting. Never went to flight school? Even _he’d_ gone to flight school. Granted he’d been sixteen the first time, and he’d blown through ground school in half the usual time because it was more fun to do the flying part. The second time he’d spent more time partying with Rhodey than studying, but that was because he was a genius, not because the instructors didn’t need to kick his ass in the right direction. That was the whole point.

How did Martin get his flight hours if he wasn’t in school and didn’t own a plane?


	70. Chapter 70

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And as my brain takes me merrily down a side path...

He didn’t know he’d asked the question aloud until Carolyn answered him.

“I don’t know,” she said, and fixed Tony with a warning look. “Neither do I care. I’ve chosen to let that dog sleep. In any case, whether or not Martin had the necessary hours for his rating before he came to MJN, he certainly has them now, so it makes no difference to me.”

 _But it might make a difference to me_ , Tony thought. Carolyn might not be clever enough to dodge bankruptcy, but she’d never have alluded to Martin’s struggle for his license if it didn’t _matter_.


	71. Chapter 71

“I’m sorry, but I’ve been trying to explain why blowing up metal-eating slimeballs in the middle of a city full of metal is a bad idea to politicians all afternoon and I suspect that thickheadedness might be catching,” Tony said, turning up the charm a notch on the off chance it might work. “Why don’t you just tell me whatever it is you’re thinking?”

“I’ll tell you what I think is true,” Carolyn said, which wasn’t the same thing, but would have to do. “You and Martin have more in common than aviation.”

“You betcha,” Tony smirked. “We’ve got sex.”


	72. Chapter 72

Carolyn didn’t blush, although she did glare in a particularly effective way, kind of like Pepper could, which sent Tony’s brain skittering off onto the question of whether or not girls got lessons in glaring, and wondering if maybe that’s why Steve’s glares were more puppydog disappointment than scariness. All of which was better than thinking about how sex wasn’t something you really learned from manuals anymore than you learned about flying and wondering if maybe Martin’s touchiness about being thought a prostitute had something to do with how he’d gotten all the flight hours he’d needed for his CPL.


	73. Chapter 73

Carolyn waited until she saw Tony’s facade slip a bit before she explained. “You’re both stubborn,” she said. “Particularly when it comes to being put into situations by forces beyond your control.” She tapped her chest to mirror the place where Tony had the arc reactor, just in case he wasn’t following along. “Martin may not have had to fight for his _existence_ in the way you have, but he’s had to fight for his _life_ , and you’ll do him no favors if you try to take that need to fight away from him. He’ll only end up fighting _you_.”


	74. Chapter 74

“He fights you, doesn’t he?”

“Of course he does. When it comes to flying Martin invariably wishes to stay on the expensive side of caution, and when it comes to paying for unnecessary diversions I invariably wish to keep the company going. If it weren’t that he has always had the power to leave MJN in the lurch, I would characterize our interactions as entirely unfair. But as I have told Martin on numerous occasions, it’s neither my job to take care of him, nor to cater to his difficulties. He’s a grown man, and perfectly capable. Well, theoretically capable.”


	75. Chapter 75

“So you telling Martin that you don’t care about him is a way of saying that you trust him?” Tony concluded, albeit uncertainly.

“Precisely,” Carolyn said. “And it’s a tactic which obviously won’t work for you. Then again, I doubt you’ll find occasion to put him in the way of six months worth of quiche, either.”

Tony wasn’t going to get sidetracked. “So what do you suggest?” he asked.

“That you think, now, and plan for the end of your affair with him,” Carolyn said, and her tone made Tony’s spine go cold. “That you give him a way out.”


	76. Chapter 76

“We just got started!” Tony protested. “And anyway, we’re only boyfriends. It’s not like we need lawyers, or pre-nups, or shit, just to go steady. And besides, I love him.”

“And that’s why you should be thinking about what Martin’s world would look like without you in it,” Carolyn countered. “Now, while it matters to you. If Gordon and I had made any kind of plans at the start then perhaps we wouldn’t have waited until we despised each other to finally get divorced. I could have walked out with Arthur before there was nothing left but spite and bitterness.”


	77. Chapter 77

“Martin’s not like that.” Just thinking about the idea of Martin walking away was giving Tony a gut-ache.

“No, he isn’t. He’s loyal to a fault. But if you want to keep him then he should always feel like it’s his own choice to stay.” Carolyn’s eyes went up to the window in the door behind Tony and by the change in them Tony knew that Martin was approaching. “Think about it,” she added, _sotto voce_ , and then raised her head regally as the door opened.

“Carolyn? Tony?” Martin sounded so hesitant. “We took another look at the weather report.”


	78. Chapter 78

Tony made sure that he had one of his best smiles on this face before he turned to face Martin. “Hey, Spitfire,” he said, casually, and then got a better look at how pale Martin was under the fading sunburn. “What is it? the storm turning into a hurricane?”

“No, no. It will probably go extratropical before that. But there’s a forty percent chance of it speeding up. Across the surface, I mean,” Martin said, using gestures for clarity. “Not speeding up into a hurricane. We should probably leave early.” He shrugged apologetically, as if the weather were his fault.


	79. Chapter 79

“How early is early?” Carolyn asked before Tony had a chance.

“If we don’t want to get the last safe slot out we should probably be at the airport by 2 a.m.,” Martin said. “You know we aren’t likely to get priority otherwise.” He turned to Tony, his face growing paler. “Douglas thinks we’d be all right if we went as late as four, but only if we ...er... ‘finagle a commission’ out of Stark Industries. I don’t like to presume on our friendship, but it would mean more sleep, and that would put us both within our hours.”


	80. Chapter 80

Tony bounced out of his chair and gave Martin a quick hug. “Hey, no problem,” he said, wondering who the hell had given Martin a fucking complex about asking for help. “I was going to send a few boxes of stuff back with you guys already. In fact, I was just negotiating with your CEO, right?”

“Yes, Mr. Stark,” Carolyn replied without missing a beat. “All that’s left to do is establish the details concerning final delivery.”

“Oh, that’s the easy part,” Tony said, slinging his arm around Martin’s shoulders. “I just happen to know a man with a van.”


	81. Chapter 81

It wasn’t until they were back in Tony’s room that Martin asked, “Were you really going send some stuff with us?” He was still melted into Tony’s embrace, though, so Tony figured that it was safe to waffle. 

“Maybe not as much stuff this time, but yeah, sure. A change of clothes for me, definitely, in case Iron Man ever gets a chance to drop in to Fitton again before the new house is ready.” He put his mouth down by Martin’s ear, to make him shiver as he whispered, “Clean underwear, an air mattress, a few tubes of lube...”


	82. Chapter 82

Tony had meant to soothe Martin’s nerves, calm him down, get him to sleep, but Martin seemed to have plans of his own, and wasn’t the least bit nervous about implementing them. In the end they were both sprawled bonelessly on the bed, and it was all that Tony could do to remember that if MJN was going to haul a few supplies in the morning that he had some packing and arranging to do tonight. He shifted position, thinking to get up, but Martin caught his arm. “Stay,” he commanded, then added softly. “Until I fall asleep. Please stay.”


	83. Chapter 83

Martin knew he should sleep, knew that if he didn’t get the rest he needed that he’d regret it the next day, but despite the warm, wondrous sensation of Tony beside him, his mind wouldn’t let go of a question. He gave in and asked it, at last, in a mumble that Tony could pretend not to hear if he was having more luck than Martin at falling asleep. “What did Carolyn actually say?”

“The usual,” Tony mumbled back. “Threatened to snatch me bald with dull tweezers if I hurt you.”

“Really?”

“Not in so many words, but yeah. Really.”


	84. Chapter 84

Martin had to take a deep breath and hold onto it to keep his eyes from getting too damp for sleep. He hadn’t expected that at all. Hadn’t expected Carolyn to defend his right to happiness against one of the richest men in the world. Especially not one of the richest men in the world who was paying for commissions that would keep her from bankruptcy. He wanted to give Tony something back, something to make that unexpected protectiveness seem less overwhelming. “Pepper threatened me too,” he offered at last. “Maybe it’s a girl thing.”

“Maybe it’s a friend thing.”


	85. Chapter 85

“Gosh, I hope not,” Martin managed, before being overtaken by a gigantic yawn. “You have scary friends,” he finished, snuggling closer to Tony.

“You do too,” Tony chuckled, finding a position where he could get his fingers up to thread through Martin’s hair. “I wouldn’t want to get caught in the middle between your boss and the Big Green Guy. Or your boss and my Pepper. That’d be like flying through a hurricane.”

“It could be worse,” Martin yawned again. There was something positively hypnotic about having Tony so warm and happy beside him. “It could be Thor and Arthur.”


	86. Chapter 86

By the time Tony managed to get his giggles under control, Martin’s sniggering had shifted into snoring, which was probably because he’d never really had a chance to shift off UK time this visit. Tony was tempted to fall asleep too, but that was because he was exhausted from trying to come up with Asgardian adjectives of disapproval that couldn’t be topped with the Arthurian counter of “Not very brilliant.” When Martin had finally topped his refrain with “Well, maybe it’s all right,” Tony had nearly broken something. He hadn’t had this many spazz attacks in years. Not sober, anyway.


	87. Chapter 87

The lure of the workshop, and the certainty that Martin would never accept being paid for using his van to move stuff when he got to Fitton unless it was actually a job that took him some effort, got Tony out of bed eventually. He’d have to wait until Martin was awake to pack clothes and toiletries, but that wouldn’t take more than a few minutes, and it would all fit into a suitcase. No, for a real delivery, he’d have to come up with a payload. A bot, maybe. Yeah, that would do it. He’d send over a bot.


	88. Chapter 88

He padded downstairs to the bar for sustenance and found the other Avengers still awake and playing a desultory game of cards in the living area. “Hey, Tony,” Steve called. “Want me to deal you in?”

“No, thanks,” Tony knew better. There was a reason most of the chips on the table had gravitated to the space beside Steve’s drink. Put the man in a red white and blue suit and he might be Captain America, defender of all that was true and good and honest, but when it came to poker, Steve Rogers was still a kid from Brooklyn.


	89. Chapter 89

“Come on down anyway,” Steve waved him over. “We wanted to talk to you about Martin.”

Tony rolled his eyes, but he sauntered over to the game. “Not another lecture,” he warned. “I’ve already had mine for the day, and believe me, none of you are scary enough to top it.”

“No lecture,” Clint said. “We just wanted to check and see which room you wanted to give Martin.”

“Room?” Tony blinked.

Bruce grinned. “Room. If he’s going to be here a lot, he’s going to need a place to go when you’re busy being a pain in the ass.”


	90. Chapter 90

Come to think of it, Martin ought to have his own room here at the tower. And he should probably have Pepper reserve space for the rest of MJN Air whenever they were in New York too, if only to save time and hassle when they had to leave again. “Did you guys have a preference?” Tony asked. “I mean, I’d like his room to be next to mine, but that means you’d have to move, Bruce. Or we could both move, Martin and me, to the rooms in the back. Might have to renovate.”

“I’ve already moved,” smirked Bruce.


	91. Chapter 91

Tony took a swig of his drink to buy a little recovery time, knowing perfectly well that he wasn’t fooling anyone. He knew that the other Avengers liked Martin, but he hadn’t expected them to rearrange their lives around him. “And just when did you manage to pull that off?” he asked.

“While you were... busy,” Steve said, while Clint offered a much more accurate, if cruder, description. “We all helped,” Steve added, sending his exasperated look at Clint, for once.

“Good, you tell him then.” Tony grinned. Martin wouldn’t even _try_ to turn down a favor from the Hulk.


	92. Chapter 92

“Don’t you think he’ll like it?” Natasha asked.

“He’ll love it, once he gets used to the idea,” Tony said. He tried to think of a way to describe Martin’s reactions to gifts without making him sound like a stiff-necked prig. “He’s not really used to the whole superhero lifestyle.”

“Neither were Steve or I,” Bruce said. “But you made us move in here anyway.”

“Well yeah, but your old apartments were already taken,” Tony pointed out. “Besides, for Martin it will be like it is for Thor and Clint and Natasha. Just a pied-a-terre for when he’s in town.”


	93. Chapter 93

“And here I thought it was a crash pad for when I was too tired to take the subway home,” Natasha said, getting to her feet. Steve, who had apparently had manners ground into his DNA, rose, and nodded a polite farewell. Clint who’d been debating making a crack about giving Tony a piece of earth for his piece of ass, decided against it, and stood up too. 

“Speaking of home,” he said, reaching for his coat, “When do Martin and the others head back?”

“Oh dark thirty.” Tony said, his grin slipping.

“You going with them?”

“Don’t I wish!”


	94. Chapter 94

“Considering how many meetings Pepper’s had to cancel due to Doombots and Loki and shit, I’ll be lucky if I can get out of town for a month,” Tony groused before brightening. “Then again, now that Pep can actually work Martin into the schedule, maybe she won’t hassle us when we’re in my workshop. And I can totally redecorate Martin’s room before he gets back.”

“Don’t you think you ought to ask him what he’d like first?” Bruce asked.

“Oh, I’ll just go for the basics,” Tony said. “A nice rug, a bed, a desk...”

“An ironing board,” Steve interjected.


	95. Chapter 95

Thor emerged owl-eyed from the stein of whichever Asgardian brew he’d been quaffing, and beamed at Steve. “I would like an ironing board for my Jane’s room too,” he announced. “They are most useful devices to have in the bedroom.”

“Do I even want to know?” Steve groaned.

“Did we make a room for Jane?” Clint asked. “Hey, if we’re making rooms for our significant others, can I have one for my dog?”

“Significant other?” Tony echoed, “That’s worse than boyfriend!”

“Not if it’s a dog,” Natasha said reasonably. “And if we’re making extra rooms, maybe I’ll find one myself.”


	96. Chapter 96

The conversation promptly shattered. Noisily.

“A dog, or a significant...?” 

“...it is a most adaptable surface for...”

“...but shouldn’t we reserve...”

“...kitten. Kittens are...”

“...alongside the bed, with an assortment...”

“...maybe, but dogs..”

“...it’s not like we can’t have guests...”

“...and they have aphrodisiacal...”

“...fur. And someone might have allergies to...”

“...who needs a whole room for fish, anyway...”

“Mr. Stark. Mr. Stark! MR STARK.”

“Ow! What is it JARVIS?”

“An alarm has gone off in the bio-lab below. In the containment unit. Do you and Dr. Banner wish to handle the situation, or shall I send for Dr. Richards?”


	97. Chapter 97

By the time Tony and the others had chased down (and neutralized) the tiny glob of jellyfish slime that had eaten its way out of the containment unit and down through two floors (growing as it absorbed metals enroute like something out of a 1950’s horror flick) it was well after midnight. Clint and Natasha had opted to stay in their Tower rooms for the remainder of the night, and Thor and Bruce had wandered off, both yawning. Tony batted his eyelashes at Steve. “Want to help me box up a bunch of gear to send to England?” he asked.


	98. Chapter 98

“Can’t your packing wait till morning?” Steve asked, fighting a yawn. 

“Nope. Martin and the others have to leave early to beat a storm,” Tony explained, leading the way down to his workshop. “And I told him that I wanted him to take a cargo over just to make the money we’re paying Carolyn legitimate. But I want it to be enough stuff that he can send a bill to Pepper for moving it too. He needs some money in his bank account.”

“And he won’t accept it as a gift,” Steve said. Somehow he knew it wasn’t a question.


	99. Chapter 99

They had put together some boxes of tools and were crating up one of the little sensor dronebots that Tony had redesigned from the surveillance equipment that SHIELD had “gifted” them when the Avengers got started when Tony asked, “Cap, do you think I’m doing the right thing?”

“Which thing do you mean?” Steve asked, steadying the box while Tony secured the lid.

“With Martin. Everyone seems to think I’m going to screw it up.”

“Does Martin? Because he’s the only one whose opinion matters.”

“No. Knowing Martin, I think he figures _he’s_ the one who will screw it up.”


	100. Chapter 100

Steve wondered how he got elected to take on Tony’s middle-of-the-night misgivings. It wasn’t like he’d ever had that much luck in the romance department. But he could do his best. “It sounds to me like you both trust each other,” he said. “That’s got to count for something. And you care about what he feels or we’d both be getting some sleep instead of packing boxes. It;s not like you couldn’t just keep giving him money till he took it just to shut you up. That’s pretty much how you got me to move in here, after all.”


	101. Chapter 101

Tony nodded, a slow grin stealing its way across his face. “If I tried just giving money to him over and over again with Martin, he’d go through the roof. He’s got a core of pride like you wouldn’t believe. I couldn’t even give him a Stark phone until I could make it all about doing something nice for me. And he’s stubborn too. You wouldn’t believe how much he’s done without and how hard he’s worked to be able to fly. If he wants something, he doesn’t let anything stop him.”

“Good thing he wants you then,” Steve drawled.


	102. Chapter 102

Much to Steve’s amusement, the faintest of blushes darkened Tony’s cheeks and the tips of his ears. “Yeah, well, who wouldn’t want a piece of me? I mean, plenty of people could say the same, at least the ones that swing that way, and I know you don’t, but I’m kinda used to that, not you not wanting me, except you do for the whole superheroing thing, but it’s just that other people want me mostly for sex and that’s what I’m used to, only it’s different with Martin, because he’s.... he’s...” Tony ran out of words.

“He’s your friend.”


	103. Chapter 103

That idea actually made Tony keep his mouth shut long enough for Steve to elaborate. “You don’t actually tend to sleep with friends, I’ve noticed. Not Rhodey, or Pepper, or any of the Avengers -- or if you ever had, you don’t boast about it. And I’m not sure you meant to make a friend out of Martin, but you did. You’re always on the phone with him, even in the middle of battles, and he’s spent more time here in your workshop than I have in all the time I’ve known you. You’re friends. And that makes all the difference.”


	104. Chapter 104

“Hey, I’ve got more friends than that!” Tony protested, but the tension had eased out of his shoulders and Steve figured it was safe to tease him.

“Yeah, maybe, but I don’t want to hear about how good they are in the sack,” he said, even though he knew it was an invitation to trouble.

Tony’s irrepressible grin made its appearance. “As if I’d kiss and tell you anything except how good _I_ am in the sack. But you know, if you’re getting tired of being the world’s most virile 90 year old virgin, I can totally hook you up.”


	105. Chapter 105

Tony was still snickering over his own cleverness despite the fact that Steve had caught up with him and was administering a noogie when Jarvis cleared his mechanical throat. Steve immediately let Tony out of the headlock. “What is it, JARVIS?” Tony asked, rubbing at the sore place on the top of his head.

“Captain Crieff’s alarm will be going off momentarily, sir,” JARVIS announced. “You asked to be informed.”

“Right, thanks!” Tony looked at the pile of boxes and crates they’d prepared so far. “Is there anyone available to palletize all this up for the flight?”

“Me,” said Steve.


	106. Chapter 106

“Mr. Hogan is also available, sir” JARVIS said. “And the night crew has positioned vehicles in readiness. If you and Captain Rogers place the material into the freight elevator the others can complete the task of preparing the load for the flight to Fitton.”

“I need to add a suitcase with some clothes,” Tony remembered. “I can get into Martin’s pants, but I don’t want to get stranded without a clean... “ His brain caught up with his mouth and he facepalmed while Steve sniggered. “Oh, man, when you get the innuendo before I do, I know I’m way too tired.”


	107. Chapter 107

“When I get the innuendo before you do _I’m_ way too tired,” Steve said. “Go on. Wake up Martin and pack your suitcase. I can take care of this part.” He shooed Tony out the door and asked JARVIS to send up the freight elevator. While he waited he caught a glimpse of his raccoon-eyed reflection in the glass of a night-backed window and stared.. The image was drained of half its light, making him seem thinner, younger, smaller, so like the boy who had sat on rooftops with a friend, learning dirty jokes under the stars. 

He missed Bucky.


	108. Chapter 108

Someone had been playing the [Horrible Histories RAF song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueFATmD68sg) for nearly half a minute before Martin managed to drag his eyes open. He stared at the ceiling for a moment and then fumbled aside the covers and sat up, staring blearily around for the source of the music. “JARVIS, is that you?”

“No, Captain Crieff. I believe Mr. Barton may have altered the alarm tone on your Stark phone. It is, however, set at the correct hour.” The lights were coming up gradually, a courtesy Martin appreciated. His body clearly had no idea what time it was meant to be.


	109. Chapter 109

Martin was fighting yawns when the door opened and Tony came in, carrying a tray with two mugs on it. 

“Oh, god, please tell me that that’s coffee.” 

“It is,” Tony said. “But you may want to grab the sheet.” He turned back toward the hallway, and added, “Teresa, un momento,” which sent Martin diving for the bedclothes. He managed to create something like a sarong, if you didn’t ignore all the fabric trailing behind, by the time Tony ushered in a woman pushing a cart full of clean laundry, but he was still blushing while Tony made the introductions.


	110. Chapter 110

“Teresa, this is Captain Martin Crieff, Martin, this is Teresa Cordero. Teresa is JARVIS’s hands and feet when it comes to keeping the penthouse clean and the laundry done. Which is why he had her come up here with the clean laundry now, I guess, so that you’d have a chance to meet her and she could help me pack stuff and stuff.” Tony actually sounded nervous. Or maybe distracted by the blush which was, Martin felt, travelling farther south than usual.

Martin switched off hands on the sheet in order to extend one to her. “Señora Cordero,” he squeaked.


	111. Chapter 111

“Captain Crieff,” she said, taking Martin’s nervousness in stride. “I also buy the groceries, so if there are any requests, please let JARVIS know.” She sounded American, in spite of Tony using Spanish to her, and Martin tried not to look surprised, even if he did feel awkward because he’d used Spanish too, and maybe she didn’t want that.

“Oh, um. I’ll eat anything,” he said. “I mean. Um. Most things. Except squid. I don’t like squid. It’s always too rubbery. And we usually eat out anyway. I don’t want to put you to any trouble, Señora. Miss. Missus...”

“Teresa.”


	112. Chapter 112

“Oh, I can’t call you just Teresa. I just met you. And it would be rude, especially if you have to call me Captain Crieff like JARVIS does. Disrespectful. And I’d mix you up with the princess all the time that way, too.” Martin knew how much he hated it when people with lots of money acted like they could just call him by his first name without his permission and even if he didn’t have lots of money, he was pretty sure that when it came to the people who worked for Tony, it was nearly the same thing.


	113. Chapter 113

Teresa didn’t laugh at him, but she did smile. “Until we have known each other longer you can call me Miss Cordero the way that JARVIS does, then, or Señorita, the way Tony does when he’s teasing me.”

“Teasing you?” Tony clapped a hand to his chest and looked innocent. “I’m honoring your heritage. Teresa is California royalty, Martin. Her great-great-great-great-great-great-great Grandfather practically invented the place. But she agreed to be Pepper for me while Pepper’s busy running Stark Industries or you know, sleeping. My PA.”

“PA?”

“My personal assistant. You know, the person who makes my life actually work.”


	114. Chapter 114

“Pepper does... did your laundry?” Martin exclaimed. He wasn’t sure if he was more surprised that anyone as scary as Pepper would do someone else’s laundry or that he’d never thought about laundry and Tony in the same sentence. Tony didn’t just buy a new shirt every time he wanted one, but still...

“Sure, do you think I can entrust my dirty boxers to just anyone?” Tony grinned. “And besides, I’m not allowed to go anywhere near laundry facilities ever since I sped up the washer in Malibu so much that it spewed stockings all over half the first floor.”


	115. Chapter 115

Teresa, who was clearly used to getting things done while Tony babbled, drew a stack of clean underwear from the cart and passed it to him. “Speaking of boxers,” she said, and then to Martin added, “Technically, what Pepper did and I do now is make sure that the laundry gets done. Here at the Tower, we do the housekeeping for all the Penthouse residents. Just put your things in the laundry chute in your bathroom and my team will deliver them to you in the morning.” With a flourish, she pulled out Martin’s uniform and shirt, all neatly pressed.


	116. Chapter 116

Martin desperately wished that he’d had coffee before facing this obviously bright, competent woman who had equally obviously had the chance to see his underwear. Tony was no help. He’d taken his pile of boxers off into the closet and was rummaging for something. “Er,” Martin said, aware that if he let go of the sheet to take the clothing it would be disastrous. “Just, um, put them on the bed, okay? I really didn’t mean to put you to any trouble.” He hadn’t even put his clothes into the laundry chute. Oh, bloody hell, now he was repeating himself.


	117. Chapter 117

“It was no trouble. This is, after all, my profession,” Teresa replied.

“Profession?” Martin echoed, and then realizing how that sounded, tried to fix it. “I mean, I didn’t know that laundry could be a profession. Oh, god, that’s worse, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s not that you can’t do laundry professionally, it’s just that I haven’t ever heard of it being done that way. Instead of just, you know, being done.”

“Actually,” Tony said, emerging from the closet with a suitcase. “Teresa has a masters degree in Hospitality Management from Cal State. Laundry is only one of her specialties.”


	118. Chapter 118

Martin was cute when he was flustered, but Tony handed off the suitcase to Teresa anyway and got ahold of Martin for a kiss. “I only thought you should meet her so you’d know who it was who you’d been borrowing the ironing board from.” 

“Oh. Oh, thank you,” Martin nodded to Teresa and smiled, not quite as nervously. Tony wrapped an arm around him, thinking that he’d never get tired of the way that Martin melted into his embrace and calmed down at his touch. It worked both ways, of course, but he wasn’t sure Martin knew that yet.


	119. Chapter 119

“You’re welcome,” Teresa told Martin, and then waggled the suitcase at Tony. “Four outfits, JARVIS thought? With or without shoes?”

“Four outfits, two pairs of shoes, extra socks and boxers,” Tony said. “Captain Roger’s making up a pallet of stuff to fly over to Fitton, so you can just add the suitcase to it. Oh, and put one of the company cards in a pocket, just in case I need it. Or Martin needs it. Whichever.” 

“Company cards? What’s a company card and why do you want me to have one. In case? In case of what?” Martin asked suspiciously.


	120. Chapter 120

“Just in case,” Tony said innocently, and then pretended to goggle at the alarm clock on the nightstand. “Oh, gosh, look at the time!” He swept Martin off his feet, sheet and all, and started carrying him toward the bathroom. “We’ll need to get you cleaned up and ready to face the world! You can’t fly across the ocean without a shower! And just think, since Teresa’s packing for me, I can shower too!”

As if that were going to make Martin forget about the “company card”. But given a choice between arguing with Tony and showering, he’d choose showering.


	121. Chapter 121

Douglas had, much to his dismay, made it down to the lobby of the Stark Tower before any of the others, only to be ushered off into the security office by Happy Hogan (who was either sleep-deprived or permanently scowling) and photographed for a permanent replacement to the guest badge he’d been lent for the past few days. Arthur and Carolyn were similarly hustled off when they appeared, much to Arthur’s delight and Carolyn’s satisfaction. Their badges all had red backgrounds, Douglas noticed idly. Restricted access.

And then Martin came down and got handed a green badge without preliminaries.

Fascinating.


	122. Chapter 122

While Tony conferred with Happy about their travel arrangements, Douglas studied the badge which Martin was adding to his lanyard full of various Airport IDs. Instead of a photograph it had a blank square, from which a hologram of Martin flickered briefly as he turned it in the light. Martin, who was far too smug to have been wakened by nothing more than coffee and a croissant like the _hoi polloi_ , patted the clip closed and turned his cheerfulness on Douglas. “Good morning, Douglas. And are we all ready for our day?”

It was going to be a long flight.


	123. Chapter 123

“We,” said Douglas pointedly, “are rather wishing that we hadn’t been in New York long enough that we are neither adjusted to the local time nor still attuned to the gentle rhythms of the English morning. You look disgustingly well-slept, Martin, given how much your _amour_ currently resembles a raccoon.” He waved a hand at Tony, who unquestionably had rather more luggage under his eyes than any of them were carrying.

“He promised he’d get some sleep after I’ve gone,” Martin said, his satisfaction undented. “And I got JARVIS to promise not to wake him up till after we’ve landed.”


	124. Chapter 124

Douglas felt an eyebrow go flying. “Sir has certainly landed with his feet under the table,” he observed. “And has Tony handed you the key to his bank account as well as full access to the tower and permission to override his AI?”

Martin flushed, and bit his lip as if he’d been reminded of something. “I don’t have permission to override JARVIS,” he protested. “I just asked him, that’s all.” He didn’t deny getting access to the Tower. Or the money. But something had flustered him and Douglas had a long flight ahead to winkle it out.

Most satisfactory.


	125. Chapter 125

Tony wasn’t happy with Happy, even if he could see the point of giving the MJN crew all the paperwork to go over before it got forgotten. It seemed rude, to expect people (Martin) to cope with stuff like rules for the Tower, and non-disclosure agreements, and Teresa’s survey of starch-or-no-starch laundry preferences and stuff, when they had a plane to fly and a storm to dodge. “Tell you what, Hap,” he said. “Why don’t we have them bring all the papers back signed in two weeks?”

“At least the non-disclosure agreements now,” Happy said. “Or Pepper will kill me.”


	126. Chapter 126

Pepper wouldn’t stop at murder with _him_ , Tony knew. She’d head straight on for sarcasm and logic, and two weeks of truly pissed off Pepper wasn’t worth contemplating, not even if it meant having to talk to Martin about legal crap when they’d both rather be taking advantage of their last few minutes together in the back of a limo. “Gimme that.” He snagged the folder with Martin’s name on it. It had all the paperwork the rest did, plus a signature card for the bank, and a mysterious envelope with a SHIELD emblem stamped in the top left-hand corner.


	127. Chapter 127

“When did old One Eye start sending love notes to my boyfriend?” Tony asked, shaking the envelope like a Christmas present.

“It came three hours ago by messenger,” Happy said. “I think it’s probably a Wallet Watcher.”

Tony scowled. He wasn’t a big fan of Nick Fury’s paranoid desire to keep track of everyone on the planet, but he had to admit that giving Martin a fake credit card that would create an alert on SHIELD’s nets if ever a thief or kidnapper tried to use it made a certain amount of sense. He just hoped it wouldn’t scare Martin.


	128. Chapter 128

They convoyed to the airport. Martin and Tony in one limo with Ricky driving, the rest of MJN Air in the other limo with Happy, and the deuce-and-a-half truck with the cargo following up with Amir at the wheel and Steve riding shotgun. It wasn’t the best arrangement -- Tony would have preferred to have Happy driving him and Martin, but Happy, as head of SI security, was the best person to get the others through their paperwork, and Ricky was a perfectly safe driver. Besides, with the bulletproof glass divider up, it wasn’t like Ricky could hear them talking anyway.


	129. Chapter 129

As the limo rolled through the dark streets Tony fiddled with the folder and started bullshitting -- something about limousines with swimming pools -- when Martin put a hand on his arm. “Tony?”

“Yeah?”

“Something’s wrong isn’t it?”

“No. No.” Tony made himself smile. “Not wrong. Just. Just something I kinda hoped I didn’t have to drop on you anytime soon.”

“Something in that folder?” Martin asked.

“Paperwork,” Tony said, thrusting the folder at Martin. “God,” he added vehemently. “I hate paperwork.”

Martin smiled, and took the file to peruse. “Most people do,” he said. “But then again I’m not most people.”


	130. Chapter 130

Tony reached up to flip on the overhead light and Martin took the opportunity to snuggle up against him, so they could both look at the papers at the same time. He flipped open the folder, “So, he asked, “What are the priority items?”

Tony blinked, but he wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to put his arm around Martin, even if it meant looking at paperwork while he was doing it. “Uhm. The top three. Two of which were not my idea: this one is just.... yucky, and that envelope which I didn’t have anything to do with.”


	131. Chapter 131

“Yucky?” Martin pulled out the paper Tony pointed to and began to read. “Tony, it’s just a non-disclosure agreement.”

“It bugs me.” Tony squirmed a little, so Martin pressed closer to him for comfort “It makes it look like I don’t trust you.”

The clauses were all pretty standard as far as Martin could see. “It protects you,” he said, digging out the pen from his breast pocket. “And me too. But I should warn you that if you’re having Arthur sign one of these it won’t help much if he gets asked a direct question. He’s a terrible liar.”


	132. Chapter 132

“Terrible as in bad at it?” Tony deduced, and Martin nodded, smiling.

“Arthur’s even worse at lying than I am,” he said. “But this,” he tapped the paper he’d just signed, “gives me the perfect excuse to not answer if a reporter shows up and starts asking me questions. Thank you.”

“Thank me?” Tony wished he’d actually gotten more sleep, so his stomach would settle down. “For screwing up your life so much that you can’t even talk about it?”

Martin shrugged. “It’s not like I would know what to say anyway. I’m in love with you, not your money.”


	133. Chapter 133

“Oh, god, that sounded pretentious, didn’t it? I mean it isn’t that I wish you were poor or anything god knows I wouldn’t wish that on anyone and even if you were poor you’d invent something brilliant and pretty soon you’d be rich again and besides if you were poor you wouldn’t have been in Mafikeng and I’d never have met you so it isn’t that it’s just that sometimes the money gets in the way and I don’t know what to think about it and oh god I’m babbling please kiss me so I can remember how to stop!”


	134. Chapter 134

Some requests Tony would never say no to, and kissing Martin was way up near the top of the list. Gradually, he felt the panicky flutter of Martin’s hands go still and the knot in his own gut begin to unkink. He wished he could explore Martin’s mouth until the end of time, but he could feel Ricky taking the exit off of 495 south onto 678 and he didn’t have much more time left to explain the rest of the paperwork. Reluctantly, he disengaged. “I hate to say it, but the money’s got to get in the way again.”


	135. Chapter 135

Martin tensed, but he leaned back and tried not to look worried. “How so?”

Tony picked up the signature form. “I want you to sign this so you can use the company card I had Teresa put in my suitcase.”

“I don’t need it,” Martin said, “Carolyn’s going to pay me now.”

“I know. I know, but I still want you to have it. For emergencies and shit.” Damn. He could see Martin trying not to lose his temper. He thought fast. “I’d have given it to Carolyn instead, but I’m not sure I’d agree with her definition of ‘emergency’.”


	136. Chapter 136

Martin almost smiled. “Carolyn? She’s pretty careful with money.”

“She still managed to nearly drive her business into the ground,” Tony pointed out. “But yeah, Pepper says that once MJN hit the bankruptcy tightrope Carolyn seems to have gotten her act together and not gone any deeper into debt, even if it was by not paying you. Still, I don’t want to put temptation into her hands. And I sure don’t want to give the card to Arthur. Who knows what he’d buy with it?”

“Or Douglas.” Martin _could_ imagine what Douglas would buy. He sighed. “So that leaves me.”


	137. Chapter 137

“Hey, it’s not all bad,” Tony said, holding off on the hug until Martin had finished writing. “At least I can’t get stuck without any money when I’m visiting you again. Man, that was embarrassing.”

“If I’d thought to go online to purchase your ticket before we left the house, I could have got the members' discount,” Martin said, in the tones of a man who had spent too much time kicking himself. “And I could have remembered to bring the lunch I packed.”

“C’mon, we were both too excited about getting to see Spitfires,” Tony said. “Especially _my_ Spitfire.”


	138. Chapter 138

Martin could feel his cheeks heating, which was hard to mind when Tony was practically purring with appreciation so few inches from his ear. If it weren’t that he needed to preserve at least some of the effort Teresa had put into getting his uniform so neatly pressed (despite the polyester) he would have happily spent the rest of the trip to the airport necking like a teenager. As it was, though, he thought he ought to find a distraction. He fumbled for the mysterious envelope. “What’s this, then?” he asked, and tore it open to see. “ _Another_ credit card?”


	139. Chapter 139

Tony took it and began to look it over with a little more attention than Martin expected. “A _fake_ credit card,” he said, not entirely happily. “JARVIS? Is it bugged?” he asked, holding the card up to the small screen that Martin had thought was a television.

Above the screen a light came on and scanned over the card. “Yes, sir,” said JARVIS, “But the bug is of the type that will not be activated unless the card is damaged or swiped through a magnetic stripe reader.”

“That’s something anyway,” Tony said, handing it back. “Put it in your wallet.”


	140. Chapter 140

“What is it?” Martin asked, although he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. Not if it made Tony frown like that.

“Happy calls ‘em wallet watchers,” Tony said. “If someone say, theoretically... steals your wallet and tries to use the card, then I’ll know about it. Well, SHIELD will know about it right away, and then they’ll let me know about it. And then I’ll do something about it.”

“That’s an awful lot of trouble for a stolen wallet,” Martin said.

Tony shrugged. “Pepper’s got one. And Rhodey. And Happy. So, it makes sense for you to have one too.”


	141. Chapter 141

Martin ran his finger along the edge of the card, wondering if he was only imagining that it felt different from most bank cards. Thicker. “So...” he said slowly. “It’s a precaution, then. Something you do...”

“Something SHIELD does,” Tony interjected.

“Something SHIELD does for the people who you... For the people who are important to you.”

“For the people who are in danger because of me,” Tony said bleakly. “And not just because of paparazzi. Martin, are you _sure_ you want to be my boyfriend?”

There was only one possible answer. 

 .

 .

 .

They were still kissing when the car stopped.


	142. Chapter 142

Somehow, in spite of knowing that Tony was watching, Martin managed to get through the pre-flight routine without panicking. Or maybe it was _because_ Tony was watching, his eyes shadowed and hungry for sleep. 

It had never occurred to Martin before that Tony might be as uncertain of how long Martin would want him to be his boyfriend as Martin was uncertain about how long Tony might want him to be his boyfriend. Because what did Martin have to offer, really, to a man who had everything? Except maybe the recognition that "everything" came with a price tag on it.


	143. Chapter 143

The cargo was stowed, the walkaround complete. Carolyn was standing at the top of the steps, waiting for him to climb up into GERTI. The weather report was burning a hole in his pocket, reminding him that they’d pushed their safe margin as far as it would go. It was time to leave. 

Martin could see Happy trying to influence Tony in the direction of the limos. Steve was already on the running board of the truck, waving a good-bye. He glanced down at his clipboard and then, on impulse, signalled “One minute!” at Carolyn and ran over to Tony.


	144. Chapter 144

“Here,” Martin said, stuffing the clipboard under his arm so that he could tug free the ring he’d worn ever since his dad’s funeral. “Here,” he said again, thrusting it into Tony’s hands. “I know you probably can’t wear it all the time. Even my dad took it off when he was doing electrical work and put it on a cord round his neck, though I just tape it over really well so it won’t catch on anything, and anyway, I want you to have it. So you can, you know, look at it, and know I’m thinking about you.”


	145. Chapter 145

Tony stared at the ring for a moment and then lunged forward to kiss Martin, quick and sweet. “I’m always thinking about you,” he said. “But this... this... Thank you.” He grinned suddenly. “Now we’re officially going steady! I can wear it to all the parties and boast about my cute boyfriend.”

“Are there any parties before I see you again?” Martin asked, only vaguely aware of Carolyn shouting.

“I don’t know, I’ll have to ask Pepper.” Tony let go of him reluctantly. “Two weeks, Martin. I’ll see you in two weeks.”

“Two weeks,” Martin promised, and turned to go.


	146. Chapter 146

Martin’s hat fell off as he ran, having been knocked askew by Tony’s kiss, but he managed to grab it before it could get swept away by jetwash or the freshening breeze. He jammed it onto his head and clambered into GERTI, sparing a glance backward as he pulled the door closed. Someone from the local ground crew was chivvying Tony into his limo, and there was an arm waving from the passenger side of the truck that had to be Captain America. Martin might have waved back if his hands weren’t busy. Instead, he nodded and sealed the door.


	147. Chapter 147

Douglas was waiting in the cockpit, running through systems checks. The instrument panel was gleaming, the indicator lights glowing with renewed energy, as if all the years had been polished away with the fingerprints, and as Martin settled into place he could tell that the seat cushions had been replaced. Even the chatter on the radio sounded clearer, cleaner. Tony’s crew might have worked right up until the last minute, but they’d taken the time to do things right. It was a magnificent gift.

“I could get used to this,” Martin said, appreciatively, as he buckled in. “Ready, Douglas?”

“Ready.”


	148. Chapter 148

“It’s not all beer and skittles,” Douglas drawled, while they were waiting for the tower to put them into the take-off queue. “We may no longer have to endure the smell of fish whenever the seatbelt lights are on, but in their enthusiasm to replace or repair everything electrical aboard GERTI, I’m afraid someone has provided Arthur with a coffee machine that has even more gadgets than the one in the Avengers’ kitchen.”

“Oh, god.” Martin didn’t have to use much imagination to know what kind of chaos that portended. “We’re doomed.”

“ _You’re_ doomed,” Douglas said cheerfully. “I’m having tea.”


	149. Chapter 149

Tony had Happy park the limo just beyond the fence so he could sit and watch the flight line until GERTI took off. It was sappy, but it was late enough at night (or early enough in the morning) that he felt entitled to some sappiness. His hand was curled around the ring that he’d come to think of being as much a part of Martin as his freckles. The man never took it off, not in the shower, not even for sex, and that he’d done so now, and handed it to Tony... Well, there just weren’t any words.


	150. Chapter 150

His phone chimed for an incoming text, but Tony ignored it, knowing that if he took his eyes off the lights that were GERTI he’d lose track of her. It wasn’t until she was up and gone five minutes later, a fading star in the east, that he sat back and checked the message.

It was from Martin. A single word with a question mark that was as much a puzzle to Tony as it must have been to make Martin use his phone so close to take-off. He frowned, realizing he’d have to wait hours for more details.

“Starkbucks?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And on that note, my friends, I am declaring this bit complete, seeing as I want to have the freedom to write chapters of more variable lengths for what's to come. Thanks again to flawedamythyst for pairing these two together and for saying "yes!" when I asked if I could play with the toys.


End file.
